By Luc Cohen
NEW Y0ORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday will hold a hearing over a Columbia University student’s challenge to his arrest by immigration authorities, a case that has become a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s pledge to deport pro-Palestine college activists.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman is due to hear from lawyers for student activist Mahmoud Khalil, 29, and the federal government at 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT) in Manhattan federal court. The hearing is expected to deal mostly with scheduling matters, lawyers for both sides said in a joint court filing on Tuesday evening.
Khalil, who is of Palestinian origin and came to the U.S. on a student visa in 2022 and became a permanent resident last year, was arrested on Saturday evening by Department of Homeland Security agents outside his university residence in Manhattan.
Furman on Monday temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation.
U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged on social media that Khalil supported Hamas, but his administration has not charged Khalil with a crime and has not provided any evidence to show Khalil’s alleged support for the militant group.
The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, has the authority to order Khalil released from detention if he finds his rights were violated, according to legal experts. Even if Khalil is released, deportation proceedings could nonetheless continue in a separate immigration court.
The case could ultimately test where immigration courts draw the line between protected free speech and alleged support for groups the United States calls terrorists.
Khalil’s lawyers say he was targeted because of his advocacy against Israel’s military assault on Gaza that followed Hamas’ October 2023 attack, which according to Israeli tallies killed 1,200 people. Israel’s military campaign which has since killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Khalil’s lawyers argue the arrest violated his right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and have urged Furman to release him.
The Trump administration has, without presenting evidence, accused Khalil of supporting Hamas, which Washington labels a terrorist group.
Green card holders can be deported if they commit a crime, profess support for terrorist groups, or if the U.S government deems their presence in the country to be adverse to U.S. foreign policy or national security interests.
It would be up to an immigration judge – not Furman – to determine whether Khalil had engaged in activity that would justify his removal from the United States, experts said. Khalil would have the right to appeal an unfavorable ruling, and the case could take years.
Trump, a Republican, has promised to deport some foreign students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement which has swept U.S. college campuses, including Columbia.
Khalil’s arrest has prompted demonstrations on the streets of New York City, with more than a half dozen protesters arrested this week, according to Reuters witnesses. Democratic members of Congress have called Khalil’s arrest “political repression.”
Khalil’s lawyers have also asked Furman to order that he be returned to New York, after they say authorities transported him to immigration detention in Louisiana.
His lawyers say that has limited their access to him. According to people close to Khalil, he has been able to speak with his wife, who is eight months pregnant.
In a statement issued by Khalil’s lawyers, his wife, who asked not to be named citing safety concerns, said her parents moved to the U.S. Midwest from Syria seeking safety and stability.
“But here I am, 40 years after my parents immigrated here, and just weeks before I’m due to give birth to our first child, and I feel more unsafe and unstable than I have in my entire life,” Khalil’s wife said.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware ; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Michael Perry)
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